Wreck, controversial finish highlight speedway action

One night removed from a full moon, the Shawano Speedway had it all Saturday: A nasty wreck, a controversial finish, sweet redemption following a nasty wreck, a first-time winner, and drivers coming from deep in the field.

Joey Taycher got soaked in victory lane after his first career IMCA Modifieds victory. Troy Springborn got his first Late Models win of the year. Travis Van Straten won his fourth IMCA Stock Cars feature. Racin’ Jason Ebert obtained his first IMCA Sport Mods feature of the season, while Brian Johnson raced to Mighty Fours victory No. 2.

Late Models

In Late Models action Doug Blashe led early on before Troy Springborn took over the top spot with an outside pass on lap nine. As Springborn led the race, Jarod Siefert went to work on the high side of the track and moved to second. Brett Swedberg then caught Siefert.

As Seifert and Swedberg battled for second, Springborn began to pull away a bit. Over the final five laps, though, Siefert dispensed with Swedberg and set his sights on Springborn.

Exiting turn four on the final lap, Seifert made charge underneath Springborn. As the pair approached the checkered flag Siefert pulled ahead and was the first car across the line by a nose.

For Siefert, though, the joy would be short-lived. A call was made early in the race that Siefert had contacted one of the orange barrels on the inside of the track and moved it. The rule states that when a driver moves the barrel inside the track they will be docked two positions, either at the next caution or at the end of the race.

The race went wire to wire without a caution, so Siefert was docked the two spots after the race. Therefore, Springborn was declared the winner, Swedberg second, Siefert third, Nick Anvelink fourth, and Derek Jahnke was fifth.

IMCA Modifieds

The IMCA Modifieds feature got off to a scary start as well over half the field was involved in a wreck at the end of the back straight away. Lance Arneson rolled multiple times in the incident before his car came to a rest on its side.

All drivers were OK, though numerous cars were eliminated from action. Once the race got going again, Joey Taycher and Matt McDermid raced side by side for the top spot before Taycher pulled ahead.

Taycher led the rest of the race for his first career IMCA Modified win. McDermid held on to finish a strong second in only his third night back after a seven-year hiatus.

Seventy-six-year-young Jerry Muenster continues to amaze after a third-place finish. Kevin Feck made up a lot of ground over the closing laps to finish fourth. Mark Weisnicht took fifth.

IMCA Stock Cars

Luke Uttecht led early on in the IMCA Stock Cars feature as Travis VanStraten quickly raced his way to second. VanStraten and Justin Jacobsen passed Uttecht to begin a battle for the lead.

As the laps clicked away, Jacobsen made numerous attempt to find a way around VanStraten. Jacobsen tried the high line right on the wall and the low line right on the barrels, but to no avail.

VanStraten held on to win the race, his fourth in a row. Dan Michonski came from 15th to finish third, Mike Schmidt fourth, and Gary Kasperek fifth.

IMCA Sport Mods

The IMCA Sport Mods feature was led early by Tyler Thiex, but Jason Ebert quickly moved to the front. Ebert led the rest of the way fending off a late charge by Lucas Lamberies for the win.

For Ebert, it was sweet redemption after a nasty wreck a few weeks back. Lamberies, fresh off a big win in Davenport, Iowa, the previous night, came from 18th to finish second. Jordan Barkholtz took third. Wyatt Block raced to fourth after starting in 21st. Jason Jach rounded out the top five.

Mighty Fours

Rookie Brandon Westphal grabbed the lead on lap one of the Mighty Fours feature. Westphal and fellow rookie Max Oreskovich ran first and second, while Brian Johnson moved to third.

A late race restart would change the complexion of the race. Johnson passed Westphal for the lead, while Oreskovich was forced to pit lane with a flat tire. Over the last few laps of the race, Johnson held off Westphal for the win. Calvin Stueck, Brad Wedde, and Grant Kastning completed the top five.

Race Summary

Late Models Feature: 1. 81S-Troy Springborn, [6]; 2. 3S-Brett Swedberg, [5]; 3. 25S-Jared Siefert, [10]; 4. 15A-Nick Anvelink, [7]; 5. 27J-Derek Janke, [1]; 6. 1B-Doug Blashe, [2]; 7. 66-Ron Berna, [8]; 8. 20R-Joe Reuter, [3]; 9. 122S-Cole Spacek, [9]; 10. 17M-Josh Moesch, [11].

Heat 1: 1. Blashe, [2]; 2. Reuter, [7]; 3. 33E-Chris Engels, [1].

Heat 2: 1. Springborn, [5]; 2. Berna, [6]; 3. Janke, [1].

IMCA Modifieds Feature: 1. 5X-Joey Taycher, [5]; 2. 67-Matt McDermid, [1]; 3. 79M-Jerry Muenster, [9]; 4. 21F-Kevin Feck, [20]; 5. 18W-Mark Weisnicht, [8]; 6. 31S-Trevor Spaulding, [2]; 7. 69W-Tony Wedelstadt, [15]; 8. 1M-Julie McDermid, [12]; 9. 5M-Eddie Muenster, [17]; 10. K9-Tyler Wilson, [7].

Heat 1: 1. 6-Konnor Wilinski, [3]; 2. 58-Marcus Yarie, [7]; 3. Spaulding, [2].

Heat 2: 1. 88X-Shawn Frelich, [2]; 2. 67-Matt McDermid, [1]; 3. 94-J.J Andersen, [3].

Heat 3: 1. Wilson, [3]; 2. 75A-Lance Arneson, [5]; 3. Taycher, [2].

IMCA Stock Cars Feature: 1. 2T-Travis VanStraten, [12]; 2. 1330-Justin Jacobsen, [8]; 3. 1M-Dan Michonski, [15]; 4. 07-Mike Schmidt, [9]; 5. 2K-Gary Kasperek, [10]; 6. 25U-Luke Uttecht, [2]; 7. 16-Asa Doxtator, [16]; 8. 94O-Kurt Olson, [3]; 9. 81X-Josh Mroczkowski, [14]; 10. 35SVern Stedjee, [7].

Last Chance Qualifier: 1. 16-Asa Doxtator, [3]; 2. 03R-Brad Rohloff, [1]; 3. 48D-Ray Depew, [4]; 4. I18-Kevin Hebbe, [6]; 5. 82K-Carl King, [9].

Heat 1: 1. Olson, [4]; 2. VanStraten, [8]; 3. 10TR-Tom Riehl, [6].

Heat 2: 1. Jacobsen, [9]; 2. 25X-Trent Nolan, [7]; 3. Stedjee, [6].

Heat 3: 1. 12S-Kurt Schwalbach, [2]; 2. Uttecht, [3]; 3. 33M-Nate Michonski, [4]

IMCA Sport Mods Feature: 1. 72E-Jason Ebert, [5]; 2. 0L-Lucas Lamberies, [18]; 3. 91X-Jordan Barkholtz, [11]; 4. 2JR-Wyatt Block, [21]; 5. 7X-Jason Jach, [8]; 6. 03R-Kyle Raddant, [9]; 7. 09H-Kelsy Hayes, [6]; 8. 23T-Tyler Thiex, [2]; 9. 95S-Sawyer Haese, [22]; 10. 12B-Jordan Bartz, [10].

Heat 1: 1. Jach, [4]; 2. Ebert, [3]; 3. Thiex, [2].

Heat 2: 1. Haese, [4]; 2. Bartz, [5]; 3. Hayes, [3].

Heat 3: 1. Barkholtz, [4]; 2. 02C-Bryce Clements, [1]; 3. 98R-Jordan Reinke, [2].

Mighty Fours Feature: 1. 77J-Brian Johnson, [10]; 2. 21W-Brandon Westphal, [1]; 3. 5S-Calvin Stueck, [11]; 4. 37W-Brad Wedde, [7]; 5. 18K-Grant Kastning, [8]; 6. 43B-Michael Brehmer, [9]; 7. 17H-Lucas Hacker, [6]; 8. 18E-Nick Everard, [5]; 9. 88E-TJ Everard, [4]; 10. 115-DJ Jorgenson, [2].

Heat 1: 1. Stueck, [7]; 2. 75O-Max Oreskovich, [4]; 3. Kastning, [6].

Heat 2: 1. Brehmer, [6]; 2. X2-Hollie Welch, [8]; 3. Westphal, [3].

Heat 3: 1. Johnson, [6]; 2. Wedde, [5]; 3. 88E-TJ Everard, [4].